Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Book Review: The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

The Distance Between Us
Author: Kasie West
Publisher: Harper Teen, 312 Pages
Publication Date: July 2, 2013

From Goodreads:
Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.
 
 


Review:
I LOVED this book.  I enjoyed reading pretty much every minute with the exception of a few short pages that were necessary plot devices.  So what did I love?  I love the fact that Xander is the coolest guy who understands when “no” means “no” and encourages Caymen to talk when she’s upset rather than making out.  I love the fact that when the “other” guy in the band showed up, Xander was still willing to help the band and he didn’t go all hyper-masculine.

The second reason I loved this book was the social class divide between Caymen and Xander.  On the one hand it was the age old story.  Poor sales girl falls in love with the unsuspecting customer.  On the other hand it was somewhat original given the twist at the end.  Frankly I wish the twist hadn’t been the twist but that’s just me.

Finally, I loved this book because of the career dates!  Yes that’s right, career dates.  How clever is this idea, letting someone else figure out what you might enjoy and then providing an opportunity for you to try it out.

If you have read this book, I would love to know what you thought about Xander and if you noticed other things about him or the relationship with Caymen that struck you as particularly great.

Posted By: Sheri

5 comments:

  1. Sounds like a fun read! I think I might wanna check this one out!

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  2. I love this book so so much! It's my favorite Kasie West book. Xander and Caymen are just such great characters, and their romance is adorable. I agree - the career dates are a nice touch.

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  3. It's been awhile since I've read this, but I really enjoyed it too. I agree about the "twist", though, I could have done without. The ending in general wasn't my favorite. If I remember correctly, it was all very rushed at the end, but I do love Kasie West's writing.

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  4. Yay! You finally read this one. :) West is one of my favorite authors and I loved this book! I'm really excited to read her next one!! I loved Xander and Caymen too. I loved all the wit and banter that sometimes is lacking in contemporary YA, but was very prevalent here. Plus, Xander was a gentleman except when he was giving Caymen a hard time. ;)

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  5. This might be my favorite of the Kasie West books even though I love them all. Like you, I enjoyed pretty much every second of it. And it was hilarious...

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